Archive for July, 2004
Edy’s Grand Ice Cream: America’s Vanilla
This has apparently been out for a while, but I just noticed the American’s Vanilla limited-time flavor of Edy’s ice cream. Show your true patriotism by consuming large quantities of red, white, and blue colored, vanillia-flavored ice cream goodness. Far better than that other so-called vanilla stuff named for that one country.
Have a good weekend.
UPDATE: That Lance Armstrong guy is pretty good, non?
Militants from the previously-unknown group Lion of God Brigades took an Egyptian diplomat hostage in response to offers from Egypt to help Iraq with security.
First of all, please note that the Egyptian offer probably doesn’t involve sending heathen Westerners to holy Arab lands, which is what all the outrage on the “Arab street” is supposedly about. Not only would Egyptian troops not desecrate holy cities and the like in the way that American troops do, but Egypt doesn’t even want to send troops or military forces at all.
It’s not the mere presense of infidels, my friends. It’s resistance to the end of the Middle Ages.
Also noted is the bizarre case of the seven hostages held by the Black Banners:
But other militants, who call themselves the Black Banners, are making new demands for the hostages they are holding: three Indians, three Kenyans and an Egyptian.A masked member stood in front of the hostages and read a statement demanding the truck drivers’ employer, the Kuwait and Gulf Transportation Company (KGL), pay the families of those killed in clashes with U.S. forces in Fallujah, and that all Iraqi prisoners held in American prisons be released within 48 hours.
The hostage-takers originally demanded the men’s employers or native countries pull their personnel from Iraq or one hostage would be beheaded every 72 hours beginning Saturday.
Copycatting the militants that hit the jackpot by kidnapping a Filipino truck driver, these confused guys are struggling to save face at this point.
Egypt, Kenya, and India have a total of ZERO troops in Iraq.
Just to be safe, however,
In response to the kidnapping, the government of Kenya asked its citizens to leave Iraq, a government spokesman said.
Next time, Kenya, submit a request in writing to all terrorist groups everywhere before allowing any of your citizens beyond your borders.
Also noted in this catch-all article:
Maverick Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr led prayers at the Kufa mosque south of Baghdad for the first time in two months, The Associated Press reported. Al-Sadr criticized insurgents who have beheaded at least three foreigners since April, according to the AP.“We condemn what some people are doing regarding the beheading of prisoners, and it is illegal according to Islamic law,” al-Sadr said, according to the AP. “Anybody doing this is a criminal, and we will punish him according to Islamic law.”
Darth Sadr seems to have realized that the way to power is through political channels, which is fair enough. The article notes
Al-Sadr’s Mehdi Army and U.S. troops battled for weeks, but fighting died down in June in the flash point towns of Najaf and Kufa.
As far as I can tell, it was the Mehdi Army itself that did the majority of the “dying down”. Remember how it was Tet all over again? Oh, well. Maybe next time.
The jury is still out, of course, deliberating the wisdom of (shall we say) less intense strategies regarding Darth Sadr and Fallujah. We haven’t had our last bit of major trouble from al Sadr, and the activity in and around Fallujah hasn’t died down all that much. We’ll see.
Picture of a French guy showing off his superior culture to that American savage Lance Armstrong at Confessions of a JesusPhreak.
I say we cut the guy some slack. Just think how discouraging it must be to be French 24/7/365. (via Hell in a Handbasket)
CIA-like counterterror center urged
I haven’t really looked over the 9/11 report yet, but one thing that has been on my mind for some time is the state of our intelligence operations.
It seems clear that we were let down by the “intelligence community” both before 9/11 and before the invasion of Iraq. Now, I don’t suggest that 9/11 should have been prevented, because it seems to me that it would have taken an awful lot of luck and a mind-set that just didn’t really exist before that fateful day. But it could have been prevented, and we must learn from our past mistakes and implement corrections.
I think it was either the afternoon of 9/11 or the next day that I said during a discussion with some co-workers that “if we survive the near future, this will be the end of the CIA as we know it.” I’ve been disappointed so far by the lack of drastic change, though I admit we wouldn’t see most of it even if it were happening.
(I also don’t mean to suggest that the invasion of Iraq wouldn’t have occurred if intel had not called finding Iraqi WMDs a “slam dunk”, though I would be more than willing to discuss the timing. First of all, I don’t FOR ONE SECOND believe that WMDs were the overriding reason to overthrow Saddam’s rule; I don’t even think they were a primary reason. Second of all, it has yet to be proven that Iraq didn’t represent a WMD threat, though I grant that it certainly doesn’t appear to be the case right now. If we reach election day and we still haven’t been shown proof of major Iraqi WMD activities, I’ll let this one go.)
One major issue brought up by the 9/11 panel is the possibility of an “Intelligence Czar” position that reports to the president and an intelligence clearing house focused on counter-terrorism.
I personally dismiss out of hand any statements by the CIA that they don’t need a Secretary of Intelligence. I mean, you don’t ask students if they need a hall monitor, do you? The behavior of the students determines the need. One of the arguments by the CIA is that the Director of the CIA currently does most of what an Intel Czar would do, to which I say “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.” It has been established that the current system isn’t sufficient. I agree that the current arrangement could use some improvement, but I think more drastic steps are called for.
As the MSNBC article I linked to at the top notes,
The House and Senate armed services committees would stand to lose the most in a reorganization, given that about 70 percent of the overall $40 billion intelligence budget funds Defense Department programs and technology, mainly satellites and other overhead imagery, communications or intercept capabilities.At least six other committees oversee counterterrorism operations by intelligence or law enforcement agencies, including the committees on homeland security, judiciary, foreign affairs, appropriations and intelligence.
The proposal, in fact, calls for a reorganization of congressional oversight.
That will make a difficult thing nearly impossible, since no one currently in power will be especially willing to hand over some of that power and the ability to control legislation and funding that come with it.
While not willing to lay the blame for 9/11 at the doorstep of Langley, I also don’t think we should let the same folks who failed so miserably to declare themselves fit for service. Something major needs to be done, and aligning the work of the various intelligence agencies would be a big step in the right direction. An intelligence super-center would facilitate that.
THE NERDITY TEST
Version 5.x.cubed.minus.3.x.all.divided.by.2
Not too long ago I was called a “geek” by some co-workers WHO WORK IN THE COMPUTER DEPARTMENT because I was reading GOOGLE HACKS in the airport while waiting for our flight.
I have a feeling that at least a couple of regular readers will blow me away on this test. Helpfully, they provide a “Start With Entire Form Checked” button to save you guys some time.
CAM-1A1 Camillus 1A1 XM8 Bayonet with Wire Cutters
At the bottom of the page:
Designed by Bob Terzuola for the XM8 Next Generation Battle Rifle, the CAM-1A1 is a radically advanced bayonet design. Featuring a wickedly sharp, double edged, 7.5″ spear point blade made of thick 0170-6C and dual molded handles with comfort grips, the XM8 Bayonet is simply incredible to hold. The low noise sheath offers a built in sharpening hone and removable wire / fence cutters. Mounts on any US standard bayonet mount rifle.
A reader sent me the link and the pic. Thanks!
List price is $350, but you can have this baby for only $235 if you order now. And save even more when you buy in bulk!
UPDATE: Here are a couple more photos:
Phil Carter on the effect of combat and counter-insurgency in Afghanistan and Iraq on our military.
Rival bashes Boeing on strategy and subsidies
In England:
Airbus’ parent company didn’t wait until today’s start of the Farnborough Air Show to take some shots at its chief rival, with a top executive calling Boeing’s analysis of the global commercial-airplane market “bloody nonsense.”
Rainer Hertrich, co-chief executive of European Aeronautic Defence & Space ignited the fireworks over the weekend, leaping to the podium several times as EADS held media briefings enlivened by impromptu responses to questions about Boeing.
In short, Hertrich took several opportunities to take pot-shots at Boeing’s forecasts and claims. In particular, he feels that Boeing is banging its “Made in the USA” drum too loudly and that Airbus would play ball.
After arriving in this pastoral setting by helicopter, Hertrich’s co-CEO Philippe Camus (the company’s top job must be shared between Germany and France) made a strong pitch for EADS to be allowed to compete for the U.S. Air Force tanker contract Boeing thought it had wrapped up until scandal stalled it.If it received the tanker deal, Camus said, EADS would create jobs in the United States, look to partner with a U.S. prime contractor and create a U.S. facility to do more than half of the work.
“With our increased market presence, we will increase our industrial presence,” he promised.
“Some people are speaking of outsourcing,” he pointedly added, clearly referring to Boeing. “We are speaking of insourcing.”
and
[Hentrich] said the commercial jet that would be modified for an EADS tanker, the Airbus A330, already has 40 percent U.S. content; the amount would grow to more than 50 percent for the tankers.And the superjumbo A380, if fitted with GE engines, would have more than 50 percent U.S. content, Hertrich said.
“The (Boeing) 7E7 will have 35 percent U.S. content,” he said. “So what is the American aircraft?”
I’ve said many times that I’m willing to pay Boeing a little more than I’d be willing to pay someone overseas simply on the principle of buying American. But, in this day and age, is there any such thing in the manufacturing sector?
The Air Force will need new tankers at some point. Probably sooner than pre-9/11 estimates predicted and probably not as soon as Boeing and Pentagon champions of the 767 tanker wish.
I want what I’ve wanted all along for this issue: A wise decision.
Odds?
The trailer for the DVD set, previously available only to Hyperspace members at starwars.com, is now available at Amazon. It’s in Windows Media format and is offered in high bandwidth and low bandwidth versions.
No ground-breaking stuff, but worth a look if you’re a Star Wars fan. The 4-disc boxed set will street September 21st.
F-16I Makes Israel Dominant in the Middle East (July 16, 2004 entry)
As noted on MO in February, the advanced F-16I fighter has been arriving in Israel (since April according to this page). This Strategy Page post says two planes are arriving each month. That means that Israel probably has about 8 or 10 right now, and that pilots have had several months to familiarize themselves with the new birds.
In November I noted this about the F-16I:
These fighters, developments of the F-16D Block 50/52, will sport quite a bit of Israeli electronics and removable conformal fuel tanks mounted above the wings along the fuselage. These tanks will extend the fighter’s range without tying up two underwing hardpoints. Lybia and Iran will be within IAF range without refuelling.
As I remarked in February, Lybia won’t need to worry as long as it keeps playing ball.
Iran, on the other hand…
UPDATE: 
Incidentally, I’m pleased to discover that the picture on the WordIQ page I linked to above includes that particular photo of an IAF F-16. (Click for bigger version.) I’ve been wanting to find this particular photo since the early or mid 1980s when I saw it in a magazine, probably either Time or Newsweek. If you look carefully at the rock prominatory in the background just “above” the left wingtip, you will see some old ruins. That’s Masada.
